If you had told me five years ago that we would one day get a comic where James Kochalka explored the inner desires of the Putty Patrollers and their eternal conflict with the Power Rangers, I would've said that you were living in a world of dreams that was but gossamer. And yet, here we are. Tomorrow, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Annual 2016 hits shelves from Boom Studios, and along with other stories, like an origin for Goldar and a brand-new Bulk and Skull adventure, that's exactly what we're getting.

Clearly, this is something we needed to know more about, so ComicsAlliance spoke briefly to Kochalka about why he decided to put the spotlight on the Rangers' faceless foes. Check it out, along with an exclusive preview of his story!

 

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Annual 2016
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ComicsAlliance: James, this annual obviously gives you the opportunity to put the spotlight on some underused characters, but why did you decide you wanted to do a story about the Putty Patrollers?

James Kochalka: The Putties are hand-made, disposable goons. They appear to be mostly mindless, but are they totally mindless? Maybe they have some simple desires of their own. I just wanted to explore that a little. The Putties are kind of like the faceless internet hordes, and the Power Rangers are the objects of their obsession.

CA: Along the same lines, was there anything in particular that drew you to Tommy and Kimberly?

JK: Really I just like the color pink, so I wanted to draw a story about pink. Also, I liked the idea of her beating up putties and one of them falls in love with her during the encounter. At first, it might seem sweet, like maybe the Putty is just a “nice guy” like those self-proclaimed nice guys you might read about who have trouble with women. But I have my doubts that all these “nice guys” are really as nice as they claim, and maybe their problems with women are deeper than they think.

Tommy seemed like a good guy to throw into the mix, because of his history with Kimberly.

CA: I know that you've got some love for the jerkier side of teenage superheroics, and it feels like Tommy gleefully stomping on Putties pushes him a little closer to that than we usually see. Was that something you wanted to do here, or just something that felt natural from watching that dude kick those poor stuntmen on the show?

JK: Yeah, well he always struck me a little arrogant, and you know I do enjoy writing arrogant characters, so maybe I played that up a little. But I’d like to think I portrayed him as sort of innocently arrogant… like, it’s almost not his fault that he doesn’t think of the Putties as real people. Also, to be fair, I have Kimberly kicking Putties in the head too.

 

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Annual 2016
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Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Annual 2016
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Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Annual 2016
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And here's the solicitation:

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 2016 Annual

Writers: Kyle Higgins, Ross Thibodeaux, Marguerite Bennett, Trey Moore, James Kochalka, Jorge Corona
Artists: Rod Reis, Rob Guillory, Huang Danlan, Terry Moore, James Kochalka, Jorge Corona
Cover artists:
Main Cover: Goñi Montes
Incentive Cover: Richard Chang
Acetate Incentive Cover: George Caltsoudas

Format: 48 pages, full color
Price: $7.99

Comics creators come together to celebrate their mutual love of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers!

From short stories like “Only the Strong” (the origin of Goldar) to “Unlockly Heroes” (basically, what would happen if Bulk and Skull became Rangers?), this oversized anthology collection features contributions from creators like Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise), Rob Guillory (Chew), James Kochalka (Monkey vs. Robot), and more!
40 pages of new story and art!

 

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Annual 2016
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Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Annual 2016
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